Search form

ICPL hosts Shakespeare’s Herbs and Flowers at the Farmers Market

It was William Shakespeare’s Juliet who once asked “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any another name would smell as sweet.”

It was not the first time Shakespeare used the language of flowers in his work. From Othello to Hamlet, the playwright’s characters have referenced daisies and violets, roses and lilies.

When Shakespeare was alive, flowers and herbs were used for more than adding color to the coffee table or spice to a meal. Join Dr. Colleen E. Kennedy, visiting assistant professor at the University of Iowa English department, at the Iowa City Farmers Market Saturday, September 10, to learn how herbs and flowers were used during Shakespeare’s time.

Kennedy’s hour-long demonstration will be presented twice; first at 9 a.m. and again at 11 a.m.

Kennedy’s presentation is part of a series of programs sponsored by the Iowa City Public Library in conjunction with the First Folio! The Book that Gave Us Shakespeare exhibit at the University of Iowa Main Library. The exhibit will remain on display through September 25.

For more information, visit icpl.org or call the Library at 319-356-5200.